After nearly three years as the head of the secretariat of the
OECD's Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information
for Tax Purposes, Monica Bhatia has proven a powerful force in
the tax world. The forum now comprises 123 countries, and
Bhatia is tasked with implementing the transparency programme
focusing on information exchange between them.

Bhatia came from a previous career with the Indian Revenue
Service. Having a female Indian leading the global effort to
crack down on black money was a positive for a country that is
reshaping its political and social landscape.

While under her care, the transparency unit grew even more
crucial in 2014, but Bhatia is not resting on her laurels.

"2015 will be a very intense year for us. We will have to
assist the Peer Review Group to complete its original schedule
of peer reviews, and the coordination role of the Secretariat
in this respect will continue to be focussed on high quality,
fair, and consistent assessments," said Bhatia in the forum's
2014 progress report.

International Tax Review: The signing of the
Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) was a huge
step in the global fight against tax evasion. What is the next
step for building a successful foundation for the
agreement?

Monica Bhatia: The commitment by 89
countries to implement the Common Reporting Standard, which is
the new standard of automatic exchange of information (AEOI),
and the signing of the MCAA by 51 countries and jurisdictions
at the Berlin plenary meeting of the Global Forum was indeed a
huge step in the global fight against tax evasion. We expect
that other committed jurisdictions will also sign the MCAA in
the coming weeks and months.

The next step is to ensure effective implementation. For
this, countries will need to enact the required national
measures and domestic legislation, put the required IT systems
in place and ensure that financial institutions will also have
done what is needed under the CRS. The Global Forum and the
OECD will support this implementation by way of training and
peer-to-peer learning, and by conducting some pilot projects to
support developing countries. Simultaneously work will go on to
develop a robust peer review mechanism so that jurisdictions
who drag their feet or fall back on their commitments can be
identified.

ITR: Automatic exchange of information is largely
seen as a positive for tax collectors and taxpayers –
in your view what are the potential risks of the system?

MB: Automatic exchange has been
successfully taking place over the past few years, primarily
within the EU countries, and there are many lessons from that
experience that will inform the implementation of the new
standard. The key concern that needs to be addressed with this
type of exchange is to ensure that the information being
exchanged is kept confidential, subject to appropriate
safeguards and used for purposes indicated in the agreement.
The CRS and its related commentary contains the necessary
safeguards and the challenge is to ensure that these work in
practice both in case of countries which have past experience
as well as for those who may be having capacity
constraints.

ITR: Focusing on your experience at the Indian tax
authorities – India has been particularly active this
year in cracking down on 'black money'. How does India's work
in this area impact the global effort against tax evasion?

MB: Since the Global Forum was restructured
in 2009 to become an inclusive forum, India has taken the lead
in its work to ensure that it is able to get effective
international cooperation in its efforts to detect offshore
wealth and address cross-border tax evasion. Its consistent
support to the enhancement of tax transparency at the G20 level
has strengthened the global resolve to keep the pressure on all
countries to maintain the highest standards of cooperation in
tax information exchange. India has also provided inspiration
and support in the efforts of other developing countries to
fully participate in and benefit from this new transparent
environment.